Empowering others, empowers me.
Tess Brouwer spent more than a decade as a high performer in corporate life before a spinal injury in 2018 brought everything to a stop. Three months in hospital, a long rebuild, and a reckoning with what actually sustains a person under pressure. She came out the other side with something most performance Speakers cannot offer: the lived experience of what happens when the system breaks down, and the science to explain why.
Today Tess is one of Australia’s most in-demand Speakers on mental and emotional fitness, mindset, resilience and high performance. As co-founder of Awake Academy she has partnered with organisations including KPMG, Coles, The Iconic and AIA to help leaders and teams sustain performance without burning out. She is a practitioner of positive psychology and wellbeing, a bestselling author, and holds advanced training through Yale in the Science of Happiness.
Her keynotes and workshops are built for people who need more than inspiration. Clients across financial services, healthcare, mining and government come to Tess because she works at the intersection of the two things organisations are most consistently asking for: mental health and resilience on one hand, mindset and high performance on the other. She treats them as the same conversation, because they are.
Tess co-creates with every client brief, designing sessions where audiences do the work in the room and leave with tools they actually use. Coles embedded her frameworks into day-to-day operations and KPIs. KPMG brought her back. The feedback is consistent: she moves people and she changes behaviour.
She is the host of Mood Boosters on Channel 7’s The Morning Show, co-host of the top 5% podcast A Wake Up Call, and a bestselling author. Her podcast guests include AIA Australia CEO Damien Mu, Olympic champion and former Sport Australia CEO Kieren Perkins, and women’s physiology expert Dr Stacy Sims. She is a mother of four and stepmother, and brings the same honesty to the stage that she brings to the rest of her life.
Talking Points
Fit for Growth: Building the Human Capacity to Perform, Adapt and Thrive
In a world of constant change, sustained pressure and rising expectations, organisations do not just need better systems. They need stronger people.Fit for Growth: Building the Human Capacity to Perform, Adapt and Thrive
This keynote brings together Tess’s lived experience of rebuilding, her science-backed frameworks and her corporate leadership background to help teams understand what actually sustains performance over time. It is not about doing more. It is about building the internal capacity to adapt, connect and grow without running on empty.
Tess takes audiences through the human skills that drive sustainable high performance: belief, energy, emotional regulation, psychological safety and self-ownership. She shows people how to build their personal Change Reflex, move from pressure to performance, and take genuine responsibility for how they show up in the moments that matter.
A powerful keynote for leadership conferences, culture days, high-performance team events, sales kick-offs and transformation programs.
Key Takeaways
• A clear understanding of the human skills that underpin sustainable performance
• Practical tools to reset energy, regulate pressure and restore clarity
• A simple, repeatable framework for adapting to change with confidence and ownership
• Stronger connection to personal purpose and how it drives team contribution
• Permission and a plan to lead differently, not just harder
Mentally Well, Genuinely High-Performing: Building Resilient Teams from the Inside Out
Mental health and high performance are not competing priorities. They are the same conversation.Mentally Well, Genuinely High-Performing: Building Resilient Teams from the Inside Out
This keynote helps leaders and teams understand how mental fitness, emotional regulation and genuine resilience create the conditions for sustained high performance. Tess draws on positive psychology, neuroscience and her own experience of rebuilding to show audiences what it actually takes to perform consistently under pressure, not just on good days. Practical, science-backed and genuinely interactive, it is designed to shift people from awareness into behaviour change. Well suited to leadership conferences, culture days, mental health events and whole-team engagement sessions.
Key Takeaways
• A clear understanding of how mental fitness directly supports high performance
• Practical tools to build resilience, regulate stress and restore energy
• Simple frameworks to embed wellbeing as a performance habit, not an afterthought
• Strategies to strengthen team connection and psychological safety in everyday interactions
• A renewed sense of ownership over personal and collective performance
Performance Under Chronic Pressure: How High-Performing People Adapt, Recover and Lead
Many teams are being asked to adapt faster, deliver more and stay positive while carrying sustained pressure. Change fatigue is real, and the gap between expectation and capacity is widening.Performance Under Chronic Pressure: How High-Performing People Adapt, Recover and Lead
This keynote teaches audiences how to build their personal Change Reflex: the ability to notice pressure, regulate their state, shift the story and choose the next best action. It helps people move from fear to possibility and from resistance to responsibility. Tess draws on neuroscience, behavioural science and her own experience of rebuilding to give audiences tools they can use immediately. Best suited to organisations going through transformation, restructure or sustained high-growth periods.
Key Takeaways
• A simple, repeatable framework to navigate change and uncertainty in real time
• Practical nervous system regulation tools that work under pressure
• Stronger emotional agility and adaptability
• Greater self-awareness around personal pressure patterns and stress responses
• A more empowered, courageous approach to change
Psychological Safety Starts Here: Building Cultures People Trust
Psychological safety does not come from a workshop or a wellbeing policy. It comes from leaders who know themselves well enough to regulate their emotions, speak honestly and take genuine responsibility for the environment they create.Psychological Safety Starts Here: Building Cultures People Trust
This keynote connects the language of psychosocial risk with the inner work that makes it real: self-awareness, emotional fitness, courageous communication and the capacity to lead sustainably under load. Tess gives leaders a practical, evidence-backed framework for understanding their own pressure patterns, managing emotional suppression and building the daily habits that create trust. Ideal for government, mining, healthcare and financial services, and any organisation where psychosocial risk has moved from an HR conversation to a board-level one.
Key Takeaways
• A practical understanding of how leader behaviour directly shapes psychological safety
• Tools to build self-awareness and emotional regulation under sustained pressure
• Strategies for honest, courageous communication that reduces psychosocial risk
• How to recognise and address emotional suppression before it becomes a leadership liability
• Daily habits and behaviours that create safer, more trusting team cultures
The Cost of Holding It All: Women’s Health, Emotional Load and Midlife Performance at Work
Many women in leadership are carrying a hidden load: emotional labour, family responsibilities, hormonal change, identity shifts and the pressure to keep performing through all of it.The Cost of Holding It All: Women’s Health, Emotional Load and Midlife Performance at Work
Tess brings this conversation into the workplace with honesty, science, compassion and practical tools. She helps organisations create more open conversations about women’s health, energy, emotional suppression and sustainable performance across every stage of working life.
Ideal for Women in Leadership events, International Women’s Day programs and organisations wanting to meaningfully support women through midlife and beyond.
Key Takeaways
• A more open and practical understanding of women’s health and performance at work
• Tools to manage energy, stress and emotional load across different life stages
• Greater permission for honest workplace conversations around midlife and performance
• Strategies to reduce self-silencing and the cost of emotional suppression
• A renewed sense of confidence, clarity and self-ownership
MC, Host and Facilitator
As a Channel 7 presenter, podcast co-host and experienced corporate facilitator, Tess brings a level of craft to hosting that most MCs cannot offer. She has sat across from AIA Australia CEO Damien Mu, Olympic champion and former Sport Australia CEO Kieren Perkins, and women’s physiology expert Dr Stacy Sims on A Wake Up Call, one of the world’s top 5% podcasts, and knows how to draw out the thinking behind the achievement.MC, Host and Facilitator
Available as an MC, host and facilitator for leadership events, wellbeing summits, Women in Leadership programs, high-performance culture days, mental health events, executive retreats, panel conversations and fireside chats. Tess brings warmth, energy and emotional intelligence to every room. She connects ideas, elevates the conversation and gives any event a sense of purpose and forward motion.
Beyond Speaking: Talent Services
Alongside her work as a speaker, Tess partners with brands and organisations to deliver campaigns, content and experiences that connect human performance, mental fitness and emotional wellbeing with practical audience engagement.
Available Services
- Campaigns and Brand Ambassador Roles
Collaborate with Tess across human performance, wellbeing, women’s health, mental fitness, energy and lifestyle campaigns. - Media and PR Engagements
Interviews, TV segments, expert commentary and features aligned to wellbeing, performance, leadership, change and women’s health. - Articles and Opinion Pieces
Commissioned writing on human performance, balance vs burnout, energy, emotional fitness, parenting, leadership longevity and sustainable success. - Podcast and Webinar Hosting
Guest appearances, hosting, panel moderation and branded conversations across audio, video and digital platforms. - Interactive Team Toolkits
Digital rituals, reflection sheets, guided practices and practical tools to extend behaviour change beyond the event. - Bespoke Workshops and Retreats
Half-day, full-day and immersive experiences co-created with the client brief.
Video
Awake Academy - Tess Brouwer - Mental & Emotional Fitness Trainer
Tess Brouwer | Mental Wellness Champion, Brain & Spinal Cord Injury Survivor, Co-Founder & CEO of Awake Academy Saxton Speakers
Tess Brouwer is a living testament to resilience, mental wellness, and the power of rewriting your own story. A former high-flying executive at Virgin Australia, Tess’s life took a dramatic turn after a severe brain and spinal cord injury from a skiing accident. Facing months of hospitalisation, two major surgeries, and profound personal challenges, Tess emerged with a renewed sense of purpose. Tess shares her journey from rock bottom to becoming a mental wellness champion in her powerful presentations. She discusses overcoming physical and emotional trauma, breaking free from the pressures of "keep going" culture, and the importance of rewriting the stories we tell ourselves. Her message resonates with anyone looking for inspiration, hope, and practical personal growth and resilience strategies.How Tess Brouwer and Layne Beachley overcame burnout in their lives | The House of Wellness
Layne Beachley and Tess Brouwer from the Awake Academy, for a deep dive into what burnout really looks like. From practical ways to manage it, to how they have learned to move through their own experiences, we’re covering it all.Tess you are a true gem in human form. Your openness, vulnerability, and generosity of spirit were truly remarkable. The session was a perfect blend of deep reflection and lightheartedness. ... keep reading KPMG
Tess was so relatable and easily connected with the room. She also held the room's attention for the full hour and took part in book signings and photo ops. Super effort.
I loved the energy and authenticity Tess brought to our team workshop. Her engaging stories, genuine warmth and practical tools for self-care created such a positive space for reflection and connection. I left the day feeling inspired and grateful for the renewed sense of wellbeing across our team.
Tess has an exceptional gift for helping leaders understand their impact in a genuine, human and sustainable way. Her sessions with our Alinta Tribe offered both grounding and transformation. Tess brings wisdom, warmth and authenticity. She is bound to recharge your teams with a lasting impression.
In my 20 years at Coles, I have never been to a more impactful workshop. I feel more connected to my team than I ever have. We have embedded all the tools into our day-to-day work and even into our KPIs. This is a must-do.
Huge thanks to Tess for an incredible session with ITVSA. It’s rare to find a workshop that is as moving as it is humorous, but Tess balanced it perfectly. The team walked away feeling inspired and recharged, with a sharpened focus on personal and peer accountability. An absolute breath of fresh air.
